Ceylan's Cannes-winner recipe needs some spice

Üç Maymun (2008) - dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan - 4 stars

Since his success with Uzak, Ceylan has assumed a heightened place in European cinema, becoming a favorite of the Cannes film festival. His latest, Üç Maymun (Three Monkeys), returned from Cannes 2008 with a third best director award for Ceylan and was selected to be screened as part of the 2008 London BFI Film Festival. Having attended the screening, the down-to-earth director wasn't shy to admit he hadn't intended part of what the festival crowd could discern from his film, which was honest and unpretentious, instantly winning the hearts of the audience. His appearance also confirmed the root of my one-and-only struggle with his films: the silences.

Ceylan is a man of few words and it reflects in his work. His characters tend to speak only to lie or to hide, not to reveal. His latest is poignant in the fact that it drives home this very point that what's most important is often not said. The family in the film, playing the proverbial three monkeys, is so spread apart despite living in the most cramped space one can imagine. They are so interconnected with the rest of Istanbul by proximity of all kinds of transport and yet so isolated where they can't go anywhere.

This tale of cornered dreamers is perhaps the best material for Ceylan to hone his directorial skills. With a touch of impressionist cinematography, pointed sound effects, and a dash of excellent acting, he has created another fine film that will surely grace the bookshelves of film lovers. However, I do believe that his formula, which defines his oeuvre, is starting to feel a little bit overused. Ceylan needs to strike a fine balance between being an auteur with a visible signature in his films and making the same film over and over again with slightly different stories and characters.

La Binoche dilutes her love stories with unnecessary movement in in-i

The revered Juliette Binoche takes the stage to dance for the first time with choreographer Akram Khan in their collaboration in-i currently premiering at the NFT. The show is a collection of love stories either acted out or danced, and obviously Binoche and Khan shine in different areas. Even though I like the idea of using acting or dancing to represent different kinds of love (according to the ancient Greeks, there are 14 ways of love), I'm not sure if the pair has thought through the show completely and let it brew enough to become more mature. There are segments that are way too long than they should be and the dance routines seem to duplicate itself from story to story as a lot of flailing arms and interchanging aggressive moves tend to dominate the dance portions. Basically, it can't create consistent audience interest and it feels like it repeats itself.

Despite its shortcomings, in-i was still enjoyable, and La Binoche's amazing acting, especially her facial gestures, stand out even when she's dancing. Her intense dance training also shows as she keeps up with Khan rather well. However, her moves don't seem as natural and smooth as Khan's and it shows that she's not a professional dancer. Having said that, I doubt Binoche decided to take on this project to prove to the world that she can dance as well as she can act. I believe she was at the helm of this project because she had something to say about love, and her voice, even though foreign to the world of dance, does bring a certain level of depth to Khan's movements. What I can surmise from the show is that love has a personal definition for all of us and everyone's understanding and expectation of love will be shaped by our past and present.

All in all, a passable try, but I hope her next project will feel more mature and polished.

A Personal Story of Dreams in Sao Paulo

Linha de Passe (2008) - dir. Walter Salles & Daniela Thomas - 4 stars

Linha de Passe stays clear of the stylized violence that Fernando Meirelles employed to introduce the favelas of Sao Paulo to a worldwide audience in his 2002 award-winning feature, City of God. Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas' feature, on the other hand, takes the favela violence for granted and instead focuses on the personal journeys of each of the four brothers, Denis, Dario, Dinho and Reginaldo, rendering the film a coming-of-age story with a realistic documentary approach. The uniqueness of this story is that the personal growth of the brothers are shaped immensely by their environment and their connection with each other, while certain political comments are allowed to bubble to the surface.

The brothers have their own obsessions that have allowed them to survive so far, but they each yearn for something more stable, especially in the absence of their father. But Sao Paulo constantly reminds them of the impossibility of change with its 20 million inhabitants who are all dreaming of a better life. In a series of events that allow the brothers to take their best shots, the film is a satisfying and realistic portrait of a family that's questioning life in its many aspects, from justice to faith.

The most powerful aspect of the film is that it doesn't judge or justify any action even though the director slightly nudges the audience towards the expectation that the film itself will speak for justice and change. Neither are easy to achieve in the real world so it's no surprise that the documentary approach of the directors doesn't allow any sweeping reworking of a Hollywood happy ending. This is a film that definitely follows in Salles' auteur footsteps, although it's not as good as the Motorcycle Diaries.

Nolan's Batman is an Allegory of our Times

The Dark Knight (2008) - dir. Christopher Nolan - 5 stars

Christopher Nolan's understanding of the Batman universe proves to be gripping as the second installment, the Dark Knight, is even better than the first, Batman Begins. Its success stems from the fact that Nolan's creation ties the psychological and innate issues in the Batman universe with our times, thus rendering the film more familiar, realistic and thus downright creepy. This is a very good film rather than just a very good comic book hero film.

The ties between our world and the Batman world really surface with the philosophy behind the Joker's attacks. The Joker, played superbly by Heath Ledger, questions our sense of security and order versus chaos with each attack he devises. His conversation with Aaron Eckhart's character, Harvey Dent, proves to be the turning point for the film, as the audience can then fully connect the dots to reveal a picture of our world where the Joker's ideas had already been exploited by even governments. In this post 9/11 world where the threat level is a constant red, people have gotten used to wars, deaths and bombs. The news doesn't scare or surprise us anymore; we still go about our business like nothing happened. As long as it's all according to plan... This deep understanding of the Joker elevates the film from the stale superhero genre to where it really belongs.

Before I end my review of the film, I have to spend a few words on the excellent performances of all the actors involved with Heath Ledger leading the pack. Ledger's Joker is a very realistic villain with a motive that plays on human nature. His first scene in the film establishes him so quickly and successfully as a violent, remorseless and psychotic being that there is no need for another gruesome scene. The first appearance proves Ledger's character is to be scared of and it carries throughout the whole film with no loss of power. Ledger has truly depicted the character as Nolan understood him. It's too sad that we will not be able to see Ledger's Joker once again.

All in all, the Dark Knight is an action, crime thriller with something to say about the world we live in. This is not something that even regular films can accomplish so the fact that Nolan has achieved this with superhero material is even more impressive. I just hope we get to see a third iteration of this Batman universe from Nolan because it looks like he still has a lot to say about our world through the lense of Batman.

Wall-E charms its way to become one of Pixar's best

Wall-E (2008) - dir. Andrew Stanton - 5 stars

The story of a garbage compactor robot left alone on Earth to clean up humanity's mess proves once again that Pixar is the best at what it does. With minimal dialogue due to its main characters, the film must have definitely been a challange over its many stages, especially for the animators as almost all story-telling needs to be done by the visuals. Knowing the reliance on the visuals, Pixar has spent a lot time and development on making the visuals as realistic as possible even including focus levels and depth of field into the visuals. The result is a beautiful film with a solid sci-fi story and adorable characters that grow on the audience. Frankly, I didn't expect anything less from Pixar.